Chicago officials seek demolition of building where firefighter died

Citing a litany of alleged unsafe conditions, Chicago city officials are seeking to demolish a Far South Side warehouse where a firefighter died after falling into an open elevator shaft.

In an emergency motion filed Tuesday afternoon in Cook County court, city attorneys cited numerous alleged deficiencies discovered in an inspection after the death of Chicago firefighter Daniel Capuano, 42, who plunged into the open shaft in the burning building Monday morning. Building inspectors alleged various problems, including "gaping holes" in the floor and voids stretching from the second floor to the basement left by demolition of the elevator shaft.

The court filings call the building at 9213 S. Baltimore Ave. "an immediate and ongoing threat of irreparable harm" to the public, and the city is seeking unspecified but potentially hefty fines against the owners.

City officials forwarded information to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. Prosecutors were reviewing the facts Tuesday to determine whether prosecution could be warranted, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Alvarez.

The building is owned by a Wheaton-based company managed by Jatin Patel, according to property records. His attorney, Patrick Cummings, said Tuesday that Patel was "crushed" by the firefighter's death.

"(Patel) is praying for the Capuano family," Cummings said. "He knows the enormity of their loss."

Cummings could not be reached for further comment after the city sought to demolish the building, but he said earlier in the day that his client is cooperating with the investigation into the fire. He declined to comment on the work being done in the building, among other questions raised by Capuano's death. Patel could not be reached for comment.

Early Monday morning, Capuano, a 15-year member of the department with a wife and three children, was among the firefighters searching the second floor of the warehouse amid smoke and flames. Fire officials said there was nothing around the shaft to warn of its presence, while city building department officials said the owners didn't have proper permits and the elevator's unauthorized removal was underway.

City officials could not immediately provide records indicating whether the building has been inspected in the past.

The Chicago Fire Department investigation continued Tuesday afternoon, spokesman Larry Langford said. Fire officials were awaiting lab results that could indicate where and how the blaze started, Langford said. Arson was not suspected, he said.

Jackie Procissi said she owned the warehouse with her husband, Thomas, before selling it to Patel in October 2014. Procissi, of Whiting, Ind., said she and her husband sold paper supplies and frozen foods under the name Quality Wholesale before selling the building to Patel for $125,000.

The elevator was in "perfect working condition" at the time of the sale, Procissi said. The warehouse passed inspections when Procissi and her husband owned it, she said.

"It was a good elevator," she said. "We're devastated because, you know what, we took very good care of that place."

Building department officials said Monday that "unauthorized work was being performed at the site." Permits were issued in September for construction work but not authorization for the removal or demolition of an elevator, officials said. If such a permit had been issued, the city would have made sure the elevator was safely decommissioned, according to the building department.

Building inspectors were on the scene Tuesday, tugging on the padlocked, boarded-up garage doors at the north end of the property and talking with a man who one inspector said was not the owner. The scent of smoke still lingered in the air, though there was little visible external damage to the brick structure.

Bouquets of flowers inserted through an iron fence near the warehouse formed a small memorial for Capuano. One man walking past on the sidewalk noticed the flowers, paused and made the sign of the cross before continuing on his way.

The review of the building done after the fire turned up holes in the floors, exposed wiring and fractured masonry, among other problems, according to the city's motion seeking to demolish the building. A load-bearing beam was replaced without approved architectural plans or a permit, according to the court filing.

A court hearing is scheduled on the city's motion Thursday.

The city is seeking as much as $1,000 per day for every day the owners kept the building in an unsafe condition, among other fines. Building officials also plan to inspect all properties owned by the company and managed by Patel, according to building department spokeswoman Mimi Simon.

Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th, said she was shocked to learn that Patel, who was renovating the building with plans of turning it into a grocery store, did not have the appropriate permits.

"He did have permits, but I guess they weren't the right ones," Sadlowski Garza said.

Sadlowski Garza said Patel is "a great guy" who has been active in the neighborhood, helping host a senior lunch for residents and "going above and beyond to help people in the neighborhood."

"This is tragic. A man died, children lost their father, a woman lost her husband," she said. "It's tragic and this could have been avoided. This has been on my mind, and I have been up at night thinking about this."

Sadlowski Garza said that if the building is a safety hazard, it should be demolished.

Patel and companies linked to him in local and state records have made frequent contributions to politicians, including $2,500 in donations this fall to Sadlowski Garza, according to campaign finance reports.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 16, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "After firefighter dies, a call for demolition - City seeks to fine building owner, notifies prosecutor" —
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